BUILDING A CHARACTER

About the Show

Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai is a young Indian actor with her whole career ahead of her. But the path forward is uncertain. She gets excited reading casting notices until she reaches the part that states: ‘Chinese or Pan-Asian preferred.’ She’s been told, ‘You’re pretty for an Indian.’ She tries on different accents and gets better service if she sounds American or British.

How many actors are there like her on stage? Are there industry experts who know how to light her skin or do her make-up? Is acting a way for Sangeetha to get closer to the truth... or is it just a form of escapism? Which is more difficult for her: playing a Cantonese-speaking Lady Macbeth, or her own mother?

Inspired by Konstantin Stanislavski’s second handbook on acting, Building A Character is a frank and intimate dialogue between actor and audience. Written by poet-playwright Ruth Tang and directed by Teo Mei Ann, this is a brave and incisive work about trauma, time travel and transformation.

Gallery

Reviews

“Throughout the performance, Sangeetha lures the audiences into her history and imagination… What remains evident is that Sangeetha is in control. She decides which stories to revisit, what sensations to evoke, when to reiterate something…”

“Playing to her talents from accents to impressions, singing to pure confessional drama, Building A Character is proof that the calluses Sangeetha’s developed over the years are the battle scars of a hardened warrior, building her into the actress and person we cannot help but fall in love with for her quiet strength, resilience over the years, and pure talent clear to see in this show.”

About W!LD RICE

Founded in 2000 by our Founding Artistic Director, Ivan Heng, W!LD RICE is one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies. Our mission is to provide a forum for the shared experience of theatre; celebrating our diversity, reflecting on the problems and possibilities of our times, and presenting productions that inspire, challenge and entertain. W!LD RICE is a not-for-profit Singapore Registered Charity, (Institution of a Public Character No. 000122). It is a recipient of the National Arts Council's Major Grant.